You Can Swim in This Paris Canal Next Summer

Parisians and visitors to the City of Light will be able to take a dip in a city canal by 2017, as the mayor moves forward with plans to build three pools along the Quai de la Loire in northeastern Paris.

The Quai de la Loire is on the banks of the Bassin de la Villette, a body of water that connects the Canal Saint-Martin to the Canal Ourcq in the 19th arrondissement. The water for the pools will come directly from the basin and the town hall plans to vigorously monitor the water quality.

“We are working on it. We have already given the first proof that swimming in Paris’ water is possible,” adjunct mayor Jean-François Martins told French publication 20 Minutes. “We want to show that we have the know-how, that we are keeping our promises and that our plan isn’t science-fiction.”

The planned project, set to be officially announced in November, follows on the success of several open swimming events this past summer (some authorized and some not). Thousands of participants dove, swam and frolicked in a swimming race that took place in the Bassin de la Villette in August.

“I think that this project will be very well received by the Parisians,” a spokeswoman from the mayor's office told Travel + Leisure. “It bears witness to how Parisians are re-appropriating public spaces.”